The Detroit Red Wings went into the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery being cautiously optimistic. The NHL Draft Lottery is often where the Red Wings get hurt, with poor results. This year they were slated to get the ninth overall pick in the draft, but they did have a minimal chance to move up to no.1 to select Connor Bedard.
The 2023 NHL Draft Lottery results are in, and the Detroit Red Wings are set to pick ninth in the 2023 NHL Draft after being pulled at no. 9 as the cards were flipped on the ESPN broadcast coverage of the lottery.
The Red Wings may have ended up where they were expected to be, but that is alright. The Red Wings were able to emerge unscathed. There was not much hope that Detroit would move up, given that they did not have much of a chance, but fans should be happy about staying at no. 9.
The Red Wings will still come away with top-tier talent and have a shot to pick up an impressive addition to their future. This draft class has a lot of exciting names at the top, and there’s plenty of reason to believe there will be an impressive name available at ninth overall.
Detroit Red Wings to select ninth in 2023 NHL Draft.
The 2023 NHL Draft Lottery is complete, and oddly enough, only two teams moved down in the draft order, and both of them were at the top of the list. The Chicago Blackhawks earned the top draft choice and the right to draft Connor Bedard.
In doing so, the Anaheim Ducks and Columbus Blue Jackets each moved down one slot and ended up at second and third, respectively. There was no other movement throughout the draft board besides the Ottawa Senators transferring their first-rounder to Arizona as part of the trade conditions from this year’s trade deadline.
The next thing on the to-do list for the Red Wings is for Steve Yzerman to get going with his scouting staff. While the scouts are already well underway with their scouting tasks and draft boards, but its time to really start to lock in on who might be available at no.9 and allow the Red Wings to walk away with premier talent.
The lottery is over, and while the Red Wings did not move up to first or second overall, it is time to shift focus to the top prospects aplenty that will litter the top of this draft class.